Bulloch County Commissioners held their last of three public hearings on the proposed property tax increase on Monday, August 21, 2023, at 6:30 pm in the Commission meeting room at the Bulloch County North Main Annex. The purpose of the public hearing is to allow for citizens to voice their opinions or concerns for the tax increase.
This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 12.850, an increase of 2.814 mills. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 10.036 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $225,000 is approximately $251.01, and the proposed tax increase for a non-homestead property with a fair market value of $200,000 is approximately $225.12.
Commissioner Jappy Stringer opened the meeting with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chairman Roy Thompson thanked the attendees for coming. He also requested decorum during the hearing and reminded the attendees that it would not be a public question and answer session. He offered that he and the other commissioners would remain after the meeting for additional public discussion.
He said that over 50 people have requested an opportunity to speak over the three public hearings and each meeting have attracted several hundred citizens in attendance.
Public Comments
Seventeen people signed up to speak, and each was allotted 5 minutes. The Commission moved to open the floor for public comment.
These comments are paraphrased for your convenience. Please view the livestream at the bottom of the story for full comments.
David Schanen - AKA Super Dave Schanen - As a private home inspector he does over 1,500 inspectors per year. There are a lot of inspections needed, but if they hired more inspectors and charged for these services that would help increase revenue. He mentioned the City of Brunswick as a model that does this. He wants to find another way to find the revenue other than taxes. The inspectors will stop riff raff and help raise revenue.
Joan Price-Adan - Lives in Irongate Subdivision. She has spoken all three times. Bulloch County was high on the list when finding a place to retire because of low taxes, conservative values and access to healthcare. We have seen planned growth since moving here. Citizens are now paying the price for deviating from a conservative plan. Every meeting there is opposition about new industries and subdivisions. The bigger problem is that the Commissioners are making plans that do not fit in with what the citizens of this county do not want. Tax abatements are not what we want. It is clear we do not want property taxes rates increased as proposed. There are fears in the community that the county will no longer reflect the community we chose to locate in. Please vote against this increase.
Danny Cartee - He use to work for the county a while back. It was run much more efficient than it was now. Dirt roads are in the worse condition that they have been in in over 20 years. Are the new employees going to be workers? I furnished my own ride to work and my own gas. Now everyone drives a vehicle home. I am tired of you increasing our taxes to pay for people who are not accountable and not doing efficient work. People are fed up with this stuff. Our social security is not going up to cover all of these increases. I don't mind paying something, but hate to see the waste going on in the county.
Darnell Waters - I moved here five years ago to get away from Chatham County. Now your doing the same thing they did. I live on a fixed income. I am going to have to move if this continues and you don't find other ways to do this. There must be unnecessary spending you can cut. Think about next election coming up. Find other ways please so I don't have to move.
Lucia Hurst - You are currently doing what government does best. Spending money you do not have. I say you must vote no and cut expenses and allow the citizens to vote on the abatements. The Development Authority does not have the right to do abatements without a vote from citizens. Do the job you are hired to do. Everyone can and will be replaced. Prioritizing foreign factories over farmers. They are offering us nothing and we are stretching our resources. New growth should be paid for by new growth. Traffic will get worse and we will loose environmental advantages.
Jimmy Mallard - You are heading down the wrong road. We elected you all thinking you would have enough common sense to run the county. There are grants you can get. The trouble with the grants are there are regulations so you can't do what you want like build a horse arena that doesn't benefit everyone in the county. The roads have been neglected. The road plow operators don't know what they are doing. I know the county wants to grow. But you must listen to the folks and figure out another way to pay the bill.
Tim Powell - We have given tax abatement that costs us money. Run your government like a business. I read the entire budget book. Every tool is in the budget. It tells you how to find the revenue. Charge fees for those exempt for property tax. Create the corporate freeloader column, or we have given the shirt of our back column. Freeloader plants must pay more fees. If we are providing fire services to freeloading companies we must charge fees for their services. Vote no to raise taxes and instead amend the budget to add fees. You are not elected to think for us, but represent us.
Randy Proctor - I am retired and on a fixed income. I am opposed to any future tax increases. I am opposed to what is being done in the east end of the county. I am concerned about the water situation. The tax increase is only for the purpose for what is being done to promote growth by our development authority. This growth benefits alot of you. I have a small shop, home and farm. I do not want to sell my farm and move. People from other countries are coming in to our community and our school system will cost us more money.
Bill Emley - People in Bulloch County are very conservative and try to spend their money wisely. The sheriff is requesting 11 positions, but the presentation he gave us showed only 10. This tears down the confidence we have in our commissioners. The SRO officer given to Bulloch Academy. In the Sheriff's presentation there was questions about how they come about the funding for the SRO vehicles. Seniors will take the hit for this. Property tax abatement exempt the schools. How can this be required but not essential services. You can't dip water out of a dry well. Please go back and find the money without raising property taxes.
Lawton Sack - Mrs. King has provided us a lot of information about this budget and we thank you. There is no public comments before the vote tomorrow. I would like for this to be added. It is our hope and fight for the 10.036 mills increase to be decreased. In the meeting notice it is the same. No decrease. We continue to feel like our voices are not being heard. We need to think about the budget and what is driving the millage rate increase. It seems to have been past very quickly that it has been rushed so quickly. I hope people on this board will stand up for citizens and say no. Put people over corporations. Put people first. Vote because you love this county and vote now.
Ginger Nevil - I want to address the sentiment regarding the disruption. It is your job to know what the increase is. People in power are selling us out for corporations. I don't know of one person in our community that wants our town to become a predominately industrial town. Farmers and the University make up the identity of our community not big businesses. Joon has now has taken the last spot in our industrial park. That is enough. No more industrial growth in our county. Stop selling out the working class and farmers. Reduce the 8% pay increase. Who has direct oversight of the development authority of bullock county? Who allowed Non Disclosure agreements?
Colton Nevil - 4th generation farmer. I am one of the few farmers who have showed up because they feel we as farmers have no voice. I am at the industrial park. I want the budget to be gone over thoroughly. No more funds to the development authority to buy more land. Farmers have been out bid by the development authority. Farmers wonder when the development authority will be abolished. I am looking for a way out. I don't want to be the farmer in the family to end the farming legacy. Please listen and understand us.
Paul McCoy - The tax increase is killing the people in the county. 95% are working class like me. I have tightened my belt and done what it takes to survive. You can do the same. People are hurting. I have not health insurance or home insurance because I can't afford it. I have done everything humanly possible to cut expenses. Tax increases have killed the American Dream. I could not afford to have any children. My family built Lawerence Baptist Church. This McCoy generation will end with us. Agriculture and timber is what this county was built for. The Hyundai plant will be digging a well in Bulloch. Why do they have to drill and take our water. People will run out of water. They should draw out of the river.
George Brannen - What you are contemplating doing is wrong. It will make the elderly and people on fixed income face the possibility of loosing our homes and restrict our quality of life. I have lived in my house here for four years. The first tax bill was $1,100 and now it has gone up to over $2,000. This is one more increase on top an endless supply of increases. $22.6 million for wells. Half will come from another source. Property will cost $30,000 per acre for the land the wells will go on. There has got to be another way to do this.
Shannon Middleton - This body is responsible to the people. There is a fundamental misunderstanding who you represent. You think you represent county government and its agencies. You represent the people. Not the government. What if we all protest and refuse to pay. Stop hiding behind the banner behind public safety and find cuts. I have to balance my home budget by cutting waste. Stop what needs stopping, We the People are telling you not to vote for this tax increase.
Howard Rushing - Taxes are getting out of hand. We need to put a cap on Ag-5 property to stop growth. It is two much growth. The environmental impact with all of this expansion is concerning. Bulloch County should not be supplying any water to Hyundai. A few years ago I had to add 40' to my deep wall because water table is dropping. There needs to be accountability of money coming in. The airport project, the water park is not profitable. The money is there for the Sheriff's department, EMS and Fire but it has to be found. You can't keep raising taxes on us. Everyone of you on the commission are Bulloch County Citizens and I plead with you not to vote for these tax increases. We pray that you do the right thing tomorrow.
Cassandra Mikell - Have you all read the 428 pages of the budget? It was released a week and half ago. Can you honestly say that you are truly comfortable funding all of this. Are any of our suggestions being considered? People keep asking you to make do with less. Vote no with the budget increase. There has been not one single item cut from the budget. You keep voting against the desires of the citizens. Tom Couch and Charles Wilson do not represent us. But you all do. You all work for us and he works for you. Not the other way around. We want our voices to be heard. After all you have heard over the past three meetings I don't know how any of you can vote for this.
Chairman Thompson motioned to close the floor to public comment. He advised that Commissioners who were able would stay after to speak with the public.
The meeting was adjourned just prior to 8:00 pm.
The commissioners meet on Tuesday, August 21 at 8:30 am at the Bulloch County North Main Annex to vote on the tax increase.
You can view the livestream of the meeting below. Full agenda and attachments are available here.